72 Charger - Long Awaited Update...

[Bob]

Love you threads.
Phil 4:13

Love You too Bob!   

Oops, love your threads. 
Ah, what the heck, love you to Bro.

[71seguy]

keep posting pics man ! im in the same boat with my 71 doing damn rust work !

What areas are you fighting the most?  How far along are you on your build?  Do you have a thread out here too?

ive been doing alot of rust repair too , mostly drivers quarter ya i have atread but its hard for me to upload pics but ill try on my phone, my car may be going off to a shop soon for two new quarters and possibly do all my paint and body  so i dont have to mess with it anymore!

[72Charger-SE]

keep posting pics man ! im in the same boat with my 71 doing damn rust work !

What areas are you fighting the most?  How far along are you on your build?  Do you have a thread out here too?

ive been doing alot of rust repair too , mostly drivers quarter ya i have atread but its hard for me to upload pics but ill try on my phone, my car may be going off to a shop soon for two new quarters and possibly do all my paint and body  so i dont have to mess with it anymore!

I completely understand why you would send the car off to a shop for the work.  I was 1000% overwhelmed and did not know where to start once the soda blasting was done and revealed all the 'rust' on my Southern Missouri 'Rust Free' car.  I took a break and researched my options.  That is when I decided to build a rotisserie.  The rotisserie saved me months of work and frustration by making it possible to get to the areas needing attention.  If I were you I would 'consider' your options and what you are looking for in your restoration.  I have learned SOOO MUCH by doing.  Whatever you decide is your decision...  stick to it..   

[71seguy]

im able to do all the rust  repair..im preatty good at fab. but imworking in a cramped garage andalot of times im not motivated ...and so now im at the point where id rather have someone eles do the quarters at least if not the whole car . wish i could load my pics but there too big i guess .

[72Charger-SE]

im able to do all the rust  repair..im preatty good at fab. but imworking in a cramped garage andalot of times im not motivated ...and so now im at the point where id rather have someone eles do the quarters at least if not the whole car . wish i could load my pics but there too big i guess .

Not having a lot of room makes it difficult.  I decided to make my garage into a restoration shop for this winter.  My truck has only seen the garage once or twice as I don't have the room to spare. 

On December 18th I set a goal to have the car drying the second coat of the Black Shell by midnight on January 2nd.  I set this goal knowing I had a LOT of rust repair (including the driver's quarter and inner fender) and went to work.  I did buy the quarter and inner fender from Year One so that made the process easier as didn't do rust patching like I did on the other side of the car.  As far as 'not motivated'... I can only say the motivation has to come from within...   

I warned my family ahead of time and told them I would be in the garage A LOT but they were not happy with me.  Now that the car is being prepped for prime and paint they understand why I pushed myself so hard those weeks.  It was tough but very rewarding, looking back...

Good luck with you project and keep on keepin' on...  GOD Bless!

[72Charger-SE]

3/11 - After cleaning up the water damage from the ice and snow melting I needed to clean up the floor of the garage SO...  I started adding parts back onto the Charger.  What a great feeling!!  You will notice that some of the items are not 'secured' with bolts.  This is not for effect... it is simply because I could not get to the part of the shop where the shock bolts were placed three years ago due to things moved because of the water.

[72Charger-SE]

More...

[72Charger-SE]

More...

[72Charger-SE]

Front Suspension - bolts all torqued down and torsion bars reinserted... added rubber bushings for UCAs..   Sadly I stripped one of the inner tie rod ends so I will have to replace that...   

I also received my order of brake and fuel lines from 'The Right Stuff'.  I plan to get the lines, gas tank, and brakes installed before I take the car off the rotisserie.

[72Charger-SE]

Another couple...

[charge69]

A very nice looking build and the time and effort you put into it shows! It will be an exciting day when you first see it in paint!  Keep the pictures coming.

[72Charger-SE]

A very nice looking build and the time and effort you put into it shows! It will be an exciting day when you first see it in paint!  Keep the pictures coming.

Thanks Charge69..  I am looking forward to paint in the next 30 days or so.  Finishing up the body work and also waiting for a bit warmer temps here in Iowa...   

[charge69]

Geeeeezz, I thought Iowa just became a frozen wasteland this last winter!   I have a good friend that lives in a northern suburb of Minneapolis and I think they finally got above freezing for a few minutes today!  Ha!

Makes me real glad I live in SE Texas. It was around 78* here locally today but, the pollen was brutal!  I'll take the pollen over the cold every day!

Just keep going forward on your Charger and, before you know it, paint and final assembly!  It's gotta warm up some time up there, doesn't it?

[71seguy]

dude those controle arms are sick ! whered you get those? also what kind of undercaoting is that ? looks thick

[72Charger-SE]

dude those controle arms are sick ! whered you get those? also what kind of undercaoting is that ? looks thick

The UCAs and LCAs are both from Summit..  The undercoating is three coats of SEM 40660 also from Summit... 

[ACUDANUT]

dude those controle arms are sick ! whered you get those? also what kind of undercaoting is that ? looks thick

What is sick about them ?. I think they look good.  
being Sick, is being Ill. not good right ?

[71seguy]

sick is slang for cool sorry im 42 still talk 25 lol

[JB400]

I wouldn't worry too much about it.  I bet if you mentioned "tuner" he'd think you were discussing a transistor radio

[72Charger-SE]

So...  GOD has a sense of Humor...    Having felt all proud after re-installing the front suspension my 'pride' bubble was popped when I realized that the K-Frame had to be taken out to get the strut bars installed.  

After a bit of 'thinking'   I decided to use the engine hoist to support the K-Frame front the top and then remove the two rear K-Frame/Frame bolts...

I then removed the nuts and washers holding the Pivot Shaft on the new QA1 - LCAs to permit me to 'move' the K-Frame towards the front of the car to create a gap for the strut bars to be inserted.  

It worked   and I was able to install the strut bars with the new bushings.  I then re-torqued all the bolts to factory specs

I decided to mount the steering box so I could 'navigate the car once it is off the rotisserie...  I then started putting the steering wheel back in but was not able to get it properly mounted without another set of hands...  so..  I decided to call it a night...  

[72Charger-SE]

More...

[72Charger-SE]

Brake Rotors, Calipers & Lines installed...  Sadly the box I had the calipers in for the past three years also housed the gas tank cleaner...  the bottle apparently leaked and took the paint off the driver's side caliper.  I will need to repaint that ....   

The new tie rod should be in today so I can finish up the front end.   

I am needing the proper routing for the rear brakes and fuel lines...  I have the 72 Body Service Manual however I am not finding this information???   

[tsmithae]

I think I can smell the rubber burning already!  She's looking good!

[cudaken]

Yep, got to have red brake calipers, they are worth .20 in the quarter mile!  Only thing I wounder about is the undercoating you used? Is it that glossy in person? When I undercoated my inner fenders, I used a flat black bed liner/ undercoating so it would not stand out. My self, I would think about using the body color over the undercoating.

Looking forward to the next set of pictures.

Now where is my Red Rattle Can, I need that extra .20 in the quarter! 

Cuda Ken

[71seguy]

looks really good man...wish i could afford those a arms ! my cars comming along too wish i could post pics

[ACUDANUT]

If it's glossy now, it won't be for long.  Either way, I wish I had your shop. The charger looks great.